The present disclosure applies to the field of alarm systems. Telecommunications buildings are typically monitored using an alarm monitoring system or simply a remote terminal unit. After collection of alarm status information, the status of the alarms can be transmitted to a communications control center, where operators can take action based on received information. Monitoring the status of alarms at remote locations can be challenging. Monitoring remote alarms may require expensive upgrades. For example, laying new fiber for a remote site can be very costly, in addition to the cost of new equipment that is installed at the remote location.